Suction tube for textile machines



July 19, 1966 w. KUPPER SUCTION TUBE FOR TEXTILE MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed April 6, 1964 July 19, 1966 w. KUPPER 3,261,562

SUCTION TUBE FOR TEXTILE MACHINES Filed April 6, 1964 z'sheets-sheet zUnited States Patent 3,261,562 SUCTIGN TUBE FOR TEXTILE MACHINES WilhelmKiipper, Rickelrath, Kreis Erkelenz, Germany,

assignor to Walter Reiners, Monchen-Gladbaeh, Germany Filed Apr. 6,1964, Ser. No. 357,705 Claims priority, application 9Germany, Apr. 13,1963,

34, 43 10 Claims. (Cl. 24235.6)

My invention relates to a suction tube for textile machines and moreparticularly to a suction tube of the type having an orifice formed in asmooth flat plate.

Suction tubes are employed for very many purposes in textile machines,for example for cleaning specific machine components, for seizing andreadying yarn ends, for removing surplus or severed yarn ends bysuction, and the like. In this connection it is also well known tomovably support the suction-tube nozzle so as to be able to direct it toa predetermined location for example where it can temporarily exercise asuction effect. It is also known to place the end orifice of the suctiontube in a smooth flat plate generally having a plane surface, but whichcan also be curved, such as a concave, convex or wavy surface forexample.

It is an object of my invention to provide a suction tube for textilemachines by means of which the introduction of yarns and fiber lengthsinto the suction-tube nozzle is essentially facilitated and whichprovides a distinct improvement over the corresponding devices employedheretofore.

It is another object of my invention to provide a suction-tube nozzlewith sealing means which simplify the introduction of yarns or the likeinto the suction-tube orifice.

It is a further object of my invention to provide the suction tubeopening in a smooth and fiat plate which avoids projecting edges andcorners in the vicinity of the suction-tube opening so that no yarns canWind around the corners and edges or be entangled with a protruding partand all of the yarns that reach the plate are reliably sucked into theopening of the tube.

With the above and other related objects in view, and in accordance withmy invention, I provide a suction tube with an end plate which ismounted for movement relative to the nozzle end of the suction tube foropening and closing the same. Means for sealing the suction-tube orificecan be provided which functions in accordance with movement of the platerelative to the suction-tube nozzle. It is Well known that innumerablesuction tubes in textile machinery are operable only for a short timeand serve no operational function for a rather lengthy interval. Forthis reason, the suction tube orifice is provided with a sealing memberwhich is opened only when the suction tube is in actual operation. Sincethe plate provided with the suction-tube orifice in accordance with myinvention is mounted for movement relative to the nozzle end of asuction tube, the displacement of the plate serves for actuating thesealing means.

According to a further aspect of my invention, I provide a plate havinga suction-tube orifice and mounted pivotably or slidably directly infront of the open end of the suction tube so that it can itself serve asthe sealing means for the suction tube.

In accordance with an additional aspect of my invention and in order tofacilitate the introduction of yarns or the like into the suction-tubeopening, I provide a plate which is movable against the restoring forceof a spring for example and which is provided with at least one stopmember connected directly or indirectly with the suction tube. Thedevice is accordingly so constructed that the opening formed in theplate is located in front of the suction-tube orifice only in theoperative position of the plate whereas in the inoperative position ofthe plate, the suction-tube orifice is covered by the plate. Theoperator thus has merely to slide the plate against the restoring orbiasing force of the spring in order to bring the opening formed in theplate into alignment with the suctiontube orifice. The yarn end is thenlaid on the plate and is immediately sucked into the tube. As soon asthe operator lets the plate go, the opening in the plate is again movedaway from the suction-tube orifice and the plate then closes thesuction-tube orifice. Thus a yarn length which may project out of theopening in the plate and extend to a yarn coil can be clamped betweenthe plate and the suction-tube end.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the inventionare set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied ina suction tube for textile machines, it is nevertheless not intended tobe limited to the details shown since various modifications andstructural changes may be made therein without departing from the spiritof the invention and within the scope of range of equivalents of theclaims. I

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however,together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be bestunderstood from the following description of a specific embodiment whenread in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the plate constructed in accordance with myinvention showing the suction tube in dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 along the line IIII taken in thedirection of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 along the line IIIIII taken in thedirection of the arrows; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic, partly sectional view of a textile machine inwhich the suction tube of my invention is incorporated.

Referring now the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 to 3, there isshown a plate 51 which is provided with an opening 52 in its flat smoothface. The plate 51 is movably-mounted on one end of a suction tube whichis provided with an end orifice 54. In the embodiment illustrated inthese figures, the plate 51 is pivotable about a pin 56 suitablysupported in an eccentric arm 55 extending transversely to thelongitudinal axis of'the suction tube 100. The pin 56 is turnablymounted in a bore formed in the arm 55 and is secured rigidly at one endto the plate 51. A torsion spring 57 abutting the arm 55 at one end andthe side of the plate 51 at the other end is constrained to turn theplate 51 about the pin'56 in a counterclockwise direction. This turningmovement is limited by a stop member 58 consisting of a boss projectingon the inside of the plate 51 when it abuts the suction tube 100. Anadditional stop member 59 similarly limits the turning movement of theplate 51 in opposition to the force applied by the spring 57, that is,limits the turning movement in the clockwise direction.-

As can be seen most clearly in FIG. 3, in the rest posi-v tion of theplate 51, the suction-tube orifice 54 is covered by the plate 51, i.e.the opening 52 is not aligned with the suction-tube end orifice 54.However, when the plate 51 is pivoted clockwise about the pin 56 in thedirection of the arrow A shown in FIG. 1, against the restoring force ofthe spring 57 and until the stop member 59 abuts the suction tube 100,then the opening 52 in the plate 51 reaches a position in which it isdirectly above the suction-tube end orifice 54 and the suction tube isaccordingly opened. A yarn F can consequently be sucked into the tube100 and when the suction tube opening 54 is closed by the reset spring57, the yarn F becomes clamped between the plate 51 and the end of thesuction 3 tube 100 as shown in FIGURE 3. In order to slide plate 51 moreeasily, its upper surface can be provided with suitable contours, forexample one or more concave recesses 62, which can be readily gripped bythe operators fingers.

A particularly advantageous application of the device constructed inaccordance with my invention is illustrated in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, thereis shown a textile machine having a plurality of reserve yarn coils suchas spinning cops suitably located in a magazine, the yarn ends of thecoils being held ready within a suction tube. The structure andoperating principles of such an appartus are described -in Patent No.3,059,867, issued on October 23, 1962 and in the copending applicationSerial No. 355,585 of Stefan Furst filed on March 30, 1964.

As shown in FIG. 4, a yarn guiding drum 2 is carried on a shaft 1 and isin engagement with a take-up spool 4 journalled on a carrier frame 3.The take-up spool 4 is frictionally driven by the yarn guiding drum 2.The yarn F is accordingly unwound from the supply coil or cop 5 andwound up on the take-up spool 4. Two yarn seeking suction tubes or arms6 and 10 feed the yarn ends to a knotting device 9 when a yarn breakoccurs betweenthe tensioner 19 and the take-up spool 4. An additionalyarn seeking arm 11 feeds the yarn from a supply coil 5 into thevicinity of the yarn seeking suction tube 10 which accordingly deliversit to the knotting device when the supply coil is to be replaced. Thereis furthermore shown a circular magazine 20 for supply cops which iscoaxially mounted on a suction tube 100. In this supply coil magazine 20the supply coils are contained in shells or compartments which in turnare mounted for rotation about the suction tube and are rotated throughone sector or division by well known and conventional stepping devices,such as a ratchet and pawl assembly, whenever the supply coil isreplaced. At one location of this supply-coil magazine an opening 204 isprovided which is usually closed by a lid 205. The lid 205 is at one endof a centrally pivoted rocker arm whose other end is pivoted at one endof an elongated rod 207. The other end of the rod 207 is pivotablyconnected to one end of a centrally pivoted double arm lever 206. Thefree end of the double arm lever 206 engages and follows the contour ofa earn 111 for suitably opening and closing the lid 205. A chute 202 islocated beneath the opening 204 of the supply-coil magazine 20, therespective supply coil being able to slide down the chute 202 onto thepivoted supply coil mandrel 5a when the lid 205 is opened.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, there is shown in enlarged view the device constructedin accordance with my invention mounted on a suction tube 100. The plate51 which closes the end of the suction tube 100 can be opened inrelation to the textile machine cycle instead of by hand. With thispurpose in mind, a swivel arm 60 is provided which is pivotable aboutthe pin 56 and, as shown in FIG. 1 by the broken lines, is actuated bythe rod 108 which is in turn connected in any suitable manner known tothe man of skill in the art to the textile machine to provide thedesired motion. As shown in FIG. 4, in order to prevent any obstacle tothe rotary movement of the shells or compartments 201, the part of therod 108 which extends alongside of the suction tube 100' is mounted inelongated slots in the bearing 61 which is secured to the suction tube100. The rod 108 is controlled by the cam 111 engaged by one end 110 ofa centrally pivoted double lever 109 whose other end is pivotablyconnected to the free end of the rod 108. As is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3,the plate 51 is cup-shaped so that it covers the cooperating components55, 56, 57, 60 which actuate its movement at the top and at the sides,as seen particularly in FIG. 2, so that no yarn lengths can beaccidentally caught therein. After a supply coil 5 is unwound, the emptycore is discarded in a manner such as is shown and described in PatentNo. 3,111,280 of Walter Reiners et al., and the mandrel 5a is pivotedslightly in the clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 4 to such an extentthat a reserve supply coil 5, 5" can slide out of the supply-coilmagazine 20 down the chute 202 onto the mandrel 5a. The downwardmovement of the supply coil 5' from the supply-coil magazine 20 on thechute 202 is effected by the fact that when the supply coil is to be replaced, as described for example in the aforementioned Patent No.3,111,280, the cam 111 is placed in rotation so that the double lever206 is pivoted counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 4 when following thecontour of the cam lobe 111a of the cam 111, and this movement isconveyed through the rod 207 to effect a pivoting motion in theclockwise direction of the double lever arm 208 which carries the lid205.

When the supply coil 5' from the supply-coil magazine 20 is mounted onthe mandrel 5a, the mandrel 5a pivots again back to the positionillustrated in FIG. 4. Since the yarn end is still held in the suctiontube 100, the

yarn at this stage extends slidingly through a slot 20a of thesupply-coil magazine from the suction tube to the head of the coil.Control means that are not illustrated but that are well known fromPatent No. 3,059,867, for example, then cause the arm 11 to pivot to theposition shown in phantom in FIG. 4. Since the arm 10 is pivoteddownwardly in the meantime to the phantom position also shown in FIG. 4,the yarn that is carried upwardly by the arm 11 can then be grasped bythe suction nozzle of the suction arm 10 and delivered to the knottingdevice 9. The yarn end of the takeup spool 4 is simultaneously conveyedby the suction arm 6 to the knotting device 9 so that both yarn ends canbe knotted together. At the end of the knotting operation, the yarnextending from the knotting .device to the opening of the suction tube100 is severed by unillustrated means such as are disclosed in theaforementioned Patent No. 3,059,867. The plate 51 is simultaneouslypivoted by the cam 111 through the linkages consisting of the double armlever 109, and the rod 108 and the pivot arm 60, because shortly beforethe end of the supply-coil replacement operation, that is, shortlybefore the dwell position of the cam 111 shown in FIG. 4 is reached, thedouble lever 109, 110 is pivoted by the cam lobe 111a counterclockwiseThe end orifice of the suction tube 100 is thereby opened and thesevered yarn end that was clamped therein is freed so that it can besucked into the suction tube 100. In addition, the opening of thesuction tube 100 for a short period each time after a supply-coilreplacement permits the yarn with the coils 5', 5" to travel around thesuction tube 100 and to take a suitable position when the supply coil isreplaced in a manner described in the aforementioned copen-dingapplication Serial No. 355,585 of Stefan Furst filed on March 30, 1964.

By employing an embodiment of my invention as illustrated in FIG. 4, thestarting end of the yarn of the reserve supply coils 5' and 5" can beeasily fed into the end orifice of the suction tube 100 without anydanger arising of possibly entangling the yarn length leading to thereserve or supply coil about any projecting portions or edges thereof.It is also within the scope of my invention to employ instead of acircular magazine as is illustrated in FIG. 4 also a straight-linemagazine as is for example shown and described in the aforementionedPatent 3,059,867.

As has been mentioned before, it is not mandatory that the plate beprovided with a flat upper surface but rather the upper surface can alsobe curved or waveshaped. In order to avoid entanglement of the yarn itis primarily necessary that the plate be provided with a smooth surfacehaving no sharp edges or projections.

I claim:

1. In a textile machine, in combination, a yarn end seizing devicecomprising a suction tube having an orifice at one end thereof, andplate means having a smooth surface and formed with an opening, saidplate means being mounted at said one end of said suction tube forrelative movement with respect to the end orifice in a directiontransverse to said suction tube so as to relatively move said endorifice and said opening in said plate means in and out of alignmentWith each other, magazine means for holding a plurality of wound yarncoils, and means for relatively moving said end orifice and said openingin said plate means into alignment for entraining respective yarn endsof said plurality of coils in said suction tube.

2. In a textile machine, in combination, a yarn 'end seizing devicecomprising a suction tube having an orifice at one end thereof, andplate means having a smooth surface disposed transversely to the axis ofsaid tube and formed with an opening, said plate means being pivotablymounted at said one end of said suction tube for relative pivotingmovement with respect to the end orifice in a direction transverse tosaid suction tube so as to relatively move said end orifice and saidopening in said plate means in and out of alignment With each other andcircular magazine means for holding a plurality of wound yarn coils,said circular magazine means being coaxially mounted on said suctiontube so that respective yarn ends of said coils are entrainable in saidsuction tube when said end orifice thereof and said opening in saidplate means are in alignment.

3. In a textile machine, in combination, a yarn end seizing devicecomprising a suction tube having an orifice at one end thereof, andplate means having a smooth surface disposed transversely to the axis ofsaid tube and formed with an opening, said plate means being slidab-lymounted at said one end of said suction tube for relative slidingmovement with respect to the end orifice in a direction transverse tosaid suction tube so as to relatively move said end orifice and saidopening in said plate means in and out of alignment with each other andcircular magazine means for holding a plurality of Wound yarn coils,said circular magazine means being coaxially mounted on said suctiontube so that respective yarn ends of said coils are entrainable in saidsuction tube when said end orifice thereof and said opening in saidplate means are in alignment.

4. In a textile machine, a yarn end seizing device comprising a suctiontube having an orifice at one end thereof, a plate having a smooth outersurface disposed transversely to the axis of said tube and formed withan opening, said plate being mounted on said one end of said suctiontube and slidable relative to the end orifice of said suction tube so asto relatively slide said end orifice and said opening in said plate inand out of alignment with each other, and biasing means for normallyurging said plate to a position in Which said plate opening is out ofalignment with said suction tube orifice, magazine means for holding aplurality of Wound yarn coils, and means for relatively moving said endorifioe and said opening in said plate means into alignment forentraining respective yarn ends of said plurality of coils in saidsuction tube.

5. A yarn end seizing device according to claim 4, including stop meansfor limiting the relative sliding movement of said plate and saidsuction tube orifice.

6. A yarn end seizing device according to claim 4, including at leastone stop member provided on said plate, said stop member beingengageable with said suction tube for limiting the relative slidingmovement of said plate and said suction tube orifice.

7. In a textile machine, in combination, a yarn end seizing devicecomprising a suction tube having an orifice at one end thereof, a platehaving a smooth outer surface disposed across said orifice and formedwith an opening, said plate being mounted at said one end of saidsuction tube and being slidable in a direction transverse to saidsuction tube from an operative position in which said tube orifice andsaid plate opening are in alignment and a rest position in which saidtube orifice is out of alignment with said opening and closed by saidplate, magazine means for holding a plurality of wound yarn coils, andmeans for relatively moving said end orifice and said opening in saidplate means into alignment for entraining respective yarn ends of saidplurality of coils in said suction tube.

8. In a textile machine, in combination, a yarn end seizing devicecomprising a suction tube having an orifice at one end thereof, acup-shaped plate having a smooth top surface and formed with an openingthrough said surface, said plate being disposed across said orifice,pivot pin means carried by a substantially radial extension of saidsuction tube and extending substantially coaxially to said tube, springmeans mounted on said extension for normally urging said plate to aposition in which said orifice is closed by said plate, magazine meansfor holding a plurality of wound yarn coils, and means for pivoting saidplate in a direction transverse to said suction tube to a position inwhich said plate opening is in alignment with said suction tube orificefor entraining respective yarn ends of said plurality of coils in saidsuction tube, said spring means and said pivot pin means being enclosedat the top and sides by said cup-shaped plate.

9. A yarn end seizing device according to claim 1, said means for movingsaid plate means and said suction tube orifice relative to each othercomprising manual means.

10. A yarn end seizing device according to claim 1, said means formoving said plate means and said suction tube orifice relative to eachother comprising mechanical means connected to automatic controlmechanism of the textile machine.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 843,674 2/1907Funk. 1,055,771 3/1913 Matchette et al. 15-419 1,090,698 3/1914 Elbe15-419 3,066,471 12/1962 Scragg 57-345 FOREIGN PATENTS 819,374 10/1951Germany.

406,063 2/1934 Great Britain.

STANLEY N. GILREATH, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A TEXTILE MACHINE, IN COMBINATION, A YARN END SEIZING DEVICECOMPRISING A SUCTION TUBE HAVING AN ORIFICE AT ONE END THEREOF, ANDPLATE MEANS HAVING A SMOOTH SURFACE AND FORMED WITH AN OPENING, SAIDPLATE MEANS BEING MOUNTED AT SAID ONE END OF SAID SUCTION TUBE FORRELATIVE MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE END ORIFICE IN A DIRECTIONTRANSVERSE TO SAID SUCTION TUBE SO AS TO RELATIVELY MOVE SAID ENDORIFICE AND SAID OPENING IN SAID PLATE MEANS IN AND OUT OF ALIGNMENTWITH EACH OTHER, MAGAZINE MEANS FOR HOLDING A PLURALITY OF WOUND YARNCOILS, AND MEANS FOR RELATIVELY MOVING SAID END ORIFICE AND SAID